Open Rants by CPesavento

First off, credit needs to be given to author Timtarr for getting me thinking about a possible trade for Sheldon Richardson. I think the author did a good job getting the ball rolling, but I'm going to take it a step further.

As stated in "Bears/Jets Trade Makes Sense" the Jets are rebuilding. They reportedly love both Mitchell Trubisky as well as Leonard Fournette and there is a strong chance that neither will be available to them at #6. Sheldon Richardson is playing out of position at OLB or behind Muhammad Wilkerson and is expendable. He's only going to have another year on his contract anyway so why not get some value for him? With that being said, here are "Timtarr" thoughts…

I like this. He did the calculations out based on the draft value chart and they make sense. Where the potential problems begin is with Richardson's suspensions. Chicago is not in desperate need for a 3-4 DE because the combined efforts of Mitch Unrien and Jonathan Bullard are adequate. Bullard (third round pick last year) is the pass rusher and Unrien the run stopper. They are okay here. So why bother getting Richardson? Trade value!

In going down the list of team needs, it's apparent that the Indianapolis Colts are desperate for defenders. It's also quite apparent that the Colts could use a young running back. If a deal could be worked out ahead of time with Richardson in Indianapolis, here is a possible beneficial scenario with a twist.

Indianapolis covers two areas of need with one draft pick. We already discussed Richardson and Jeremy Langford is a quality running back that lost his job to Jordan Howard. Langford could have started for probably 10 teams last year but Howard was just better. Langford is potentially more valuable to other teams than the Bears at this juncture so trading him would be to their advantage. As for the wide receiver swap, Philip Dorsett is sitting behind Dante Moncrief and adjusting slowly to the NFL. He's an upgrade from Markus Wheaton, which is still adequate enough to play WR #3. The Bears would have to shoulder a little financial burden, but the value is there for both teams.

From here, based on the draft trade value chart, if you combined all of the Bears draft picks, they would have capital of over 3815 points. This is what I would do if I were them:

Trade down the #6 pick overall to Cleveland for #12 (plus additional picks).#12 pick overall… Marshon Lattimore or Marlon Humphries (CBs)#15 pick overall… Cam Robinson (OT)Trade up the current second round pick (36) as well as some of the other compensation received from Cleveland, to Seattle for the #26 pick overall.#26 pick overall… obi Melifonwu (safety) Connecticut.Use one of their fourth-round picks for the loss at running back of Jeremy Langford.

Ideology: the signing of prince Amukamara (CB) is temporary. It's a one-year contract and he has a history of injuries. The #12 pick would cover that. Drafting Robinson at #15 overall (via Indianapolis) is a reach, but potentially worthwhile. Josh Sitton will turn 31 this year. The two tackles are barely getting by. Robinson has the athletic ability to play any of these positions, it's just a matter of finding the right fit. He could very easily start this year at right tackle.

As for the #26 pick overall Obi Melifonwu (safety) Connecticut, he's an athletic stud. He comes from Connecticut so there may be a slight adjustment period, which works out okay because of the signing of Quentin Depps. Grabbing a running back in the fourth round would be advantageous to use as a backup. They could drop Ka'Deem Carey and save a little room on the cap.

As far as the rest of the draft capital goes (795 points), trade everything into pics for next year. Mike Glennon is no slamdunk at quarterback and odds are that next year's LT class is better. The Bears will most likely be 9-7 next year and will need all the draft capital they can possibly muster.